Helllllloooo, everyone. As a brand new mom here, it’s pretty cool to be writing with and for the moms of the coolest city in the world, Austin. I’m Kendra Germenis.

I love this town. Don’t you? And yes, I say town because the small spirit of this now big city is what makes Austin so special to me. I mean how many people that you know can you really run into at Chuys on 183? It’s ridiculous. That never happened to us in that other big Texas city where we lived.

Don’t let me fool you, I’m not an Austin native (gasp) but sometimes feel like I am (gasp, again). I’m originally a small-town girl from Ennis, about 35 miles south of downtown Dallas. I went to UT Austin (hook ‘em!), and while there, met my awesome husband who actually is from Austin and was attending Texas State at the time. We’ve been together 9 years as of Valentine’s Day 2017 (thanks, Cupid… don’t hate on Valentine’s) and have been married for over 5.

Our time together has gone something like this: adventuring in Austin college kids, stressed college kids, graduated college kids, broke adults in the recession working multiple jobs, adults with full-time jobs, married adults, first-time homeowners in DFW, married young adults acting like old people, want-to-be-young-again adults moving back to Austin, renters living it up, back to home ownership and remodeling, and now newly parents. Time flies, but man, a lot sure does happen in that time.

Now to why I’m even here writing in the first place, our almost 4-month-old little man, Jensen. He’s the best. And yes, I’m biased, but every mom should be. Jensen currently loves to talk, smile, spit up and is generally social thanks to our enormous circle of family and friends. I don’t ever feel guilty about putting the kid down, seriously. He gets plenty of attention.

Jensen definitely changed our lives, but that’s supposed to happen, right? After spending nine months mourning my pre-baby self and mentally preparing for this new adventure, I was excited to feel that “feeling” moms always talked about. It took, mmmm, one second for me to cry tears of joy after delivery, and I am thankful every day for the blessing we have. From selfish to #somom, I wouldn’t change it for the world. That’s kind of where I’m at with parenting and what I hope to share — going from a non-baby-fever individual to a mushy mom. I’m genuinely excited to share my experience and what I’ve learned thus far.

So, other things in life, like work. I’m currently a Marketing Manager for a regional public accounting firm, Weaver. I’ve been there over 6 years, have a super supportive team, work from home (don’t get me wrong, kiddo doesn’t stay at home with me), and get to be both creative and analytical on a daily basis. I’m also working toward my Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM)® certification. We’ll see how that goes.

On the side, I run an art and design shop, Kitsy Co, my true passion project. I started Kitsy Co as an Etsy shop, selling art, digital invitations and other digital designs, but have since expanded, now offering creative marketing and design services to businesses and dabbling in art consignment as well. This whole mom + career + side career is a lot, though, and I’m still trying to figure out what my work/life balance is going to look like for now and what I want it to look like in the future. I do love a healthy dose of work, but I love my kid way more 🙂

I guess there are lots of other things I love too, like sweets, Bravo, daydreaming and pizza. Our diva dog Mickie would probably appreciate being included in that list too. As for all that “spare time” I have, it tends to get split between friends/family, DIY house projects and adventures. Anything outdoors, exploring Austin, travelling, live music, road trips, foodie-ing (can that be a word?), trails, patios, breweries — I’m a sucker for all of the above. The extracurriculars in my life may look a tad bit different these days, but they still never end!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter

* indicates required


Kendra Germenis
Kendra joined the mom club in 2016, followed by the #boymom club in Summer 2019. Kendra loves to write, and for AMB, enjoys sharing her new parent experiences, tips, and general love of Austin. For her, life is a balance of spending quality time with her family, pursuing her program management career, and still soaking up life and adventures. She also freelances through her art and design shop, Kitsy Co. Assorted loves: art, date nights, culture, road trips, Bravo, breweries, chocolate, house remodeling, sunshine, live music and patios.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here